Means for agitating liquids



July 7, 1953 H.-` L.. sllMfoN MEANS Fon GITATING LIQUIDS Filed July 25, 1950 Il. CIIIIIIr-.lllllglllf i-l. L. slMoN MEANS FoR AGITATING LIQuIns July 7, 1953 4 Sheets-sheet 2 Filed Jixly 25, 1950 July 7, 1953 H. L. slMoN 2,644,677

i MEANS FOR -AQLTATING LIQUIDs Filed July 25. 195o 4 Smets-sheet' s rFiled July 25, 195o July -7, 1953 H. l...` vslMoN v 2,644,677

l MEANS Fox AGITATIN LIQUIDs Fatented July 7,

UNITED STATES PATENT oF-Eics i 2,644,677 .Y i i S FOR AGITATING LlQUIDS Y Hans Leopold- Simon, Londoiu- England Application July 25.1950, serial No. 175,800 In Great Britain July 26, 19.49

The present invention relates to means for agitating liquids and has for an object to provide an improved portable agitator for liquids which is inexpensive, easily positioned, 'and adapted for use with various kinds of liquid containers.

Removable agitators for domestic washing machines are known but such agitators are adapted for use in a specically designed tank or receptacle usually having an upstanding column or the like in which the agitator seats. The column is usually positioned centrally of the tank although in one known construction the column is located outside the tank and connected there to by suitable pipes'or ducts. In these known constructions .means are usually provided for maintaining the articles immersed in the liquid contained in the tank free from the inlet and/or outlet of the agitator, which means are incorporated in the tank constructionproper and do not form' part of the removable agitator.,

Portable agitators are also known which are adapted for use in any suitable container but such agitators are not shielded from contact with articles which may be immersed in the liquid in the container and consequently the liquid immediately surrounding the agitator is not maintained free fromrobstruction by 'such articles.

Furthermore in known agitators the liquid is agitated either by means of .a continuously rotating paddle or other form of 'blade which is submerged in the liquid, or the liquid is agitated by means of a 'paddle which is adapted to be reciprocated and which is positioned to lie just below the level of the liquid. It has been lOllnd that in most of these types of agitators there is in lfact only a local disturbance ofthe liquid in the one ease to producel a continuous current through that liquid and -in the other case to produce a tov and fro agitation in the top layer of liquid. When ysuch agitators are used for washing clothing reliance is placed upon the actual movement oi the clothing in the liquid to break up the current or the upper agitation to 111s-,l

tribute' the liquid through the clothing. In yet another known form of agitator the clothing is placed inside a drum Which is wholly or partially immersed in the liquidV and the drumrotated, this rotation being lrelied upon to produce circulation of the liquid through the clothing in the drum the rotation of the drum also serving to turn the clothing over.

According to the present invention a portable device for agitating liquids in a container comprises means forproducing a directed ow of 3 Claims. (Cl. 259-101) liquid throughout the container. said means. being adapted to operate in a volume of the liquid defined by a perforated casing surrounding and spaced from said 'means and extending upwardly a substantial `.distance from the bottom of the device, the'arransement being such that thel liquid is agitated throughout substantially thewhole depth thereofI y Conveniently the liquid agitating means are enclosed 'by an open mesh screen or the like through which the liquid in Which the device is immersed may easily flow, the said means being actuated by an electric motor mounted above the screen, and the device being adapted to be positioned so that Ait .lies 91.0.56 t0 a .Wall of the container foi" saidliquld,l the l.agitating ineens, screen and electric motor forming a single and readily removable assembly.V

In one form 'of construction o1' af deviceaccording to the invention the. liquid agitatng means comprises .a vertically 'disposed bladeoscillating about ka vertical axis, 'while` in a vfurther construction, the agitating means comprises an uplift tube having inlet and outlet openings and having mounted -therein a rotary impeller for drawing in liquid through the inlet openings kand discharging it through the outlet openings.

The invention will now be described with ref.- erence to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device according to the invention having .an oscillating* blade type of liquid agitator, part of the casingv being cut away to show details of construction; Figure 2 is a plan Vview of the device .of Figure l also having part of the cover cut away;

VFigure '3 is a section taken alongv the line III- III to Figure 1; f

vFigure 4; is a rside elevation partly in section of the device shoWn'in Figure l but :fitted with an uplift tube type of liquid agitator;

Figure 5 is va sectional view of a container showing the .manner in whichthedevice may be positioned therein; and f Figure 6 is aside elevation partly in section showing an alternative construction of the device with an uplift tube. Y Y

Referring tofFigures 1,'2 and 3 .a Idevice according to the invention ycomprises a base plater I upon which is mounted an lelectric. motor 2. Rotatably mounted Yin .the base plate I and eX- tendingl downwardly therefrom isa verticalshaft 3 'having secured thereto van agitator blade .4.

whichv is caused to oscillate to and`r fro fromA the position shown .iniul-I (Figure y3)v .tov

the position shown in chain dotted lines. Os

3 cillation of the shaft 3 may be produced by any suitable means and as shown the shaft 3 has mounted on the upper end thereof a crank to which is connected one end of an arcuate link member 6 by means of a crank pin 1. The other end of the link member 6 is connected to a crank 8 by means of a crank-pin 9 the crank 8 being mounted on the lower end of a vertical spindle I9 having a gear wheelfll in engagement with a wormllZ mcuntedon one end of the motor shaft i3. Rotation of the motor shaft is translated through the link and crank mechanism into an oscillating movement of the shaft 3 about its longitudinal axis whereby the blade 4"is'caused to move to and fro between theextreme positions shown in Figure 3. Y Y

Secured to the base plate l as by screws I4 for. example is a downwardly depending cage l5 conforming to the contour of the base plate and extending a short distance below the lower edge of the blade 4. The case I5 is constructed of wires or rods I6 forming ascreen the meshes of which are sufliciently large to enable easy ow of liquid to'and from the agitator blade but serve to keep large solids such asfarticles of clothing for eX- ample clear of Ysaid blade. The wall of the cage is strengthened by a plate Il extending the length thereof and forming that portion of the wall lying to the rear of the shaft 3. Secured to the plate il as by welding for example is a strip i8 extending slightly above the base plate l and having secured thereto a U-shaped spring member I9 to the freel end of which is secured a curved rod or bar 2ll.` A detachable cover 2l is adapted to fit on the base plate and encloses the motor' 2 and the link mechanism. A suitable aperture 22 is provided in the cover through. which passes a flexible connection 23 for connecting the electric 1 motor to any suitables'ource of electric power.

In the 'construction shownfin Figure 4 the blade type liquid Vagitator of Figure 1 has been replaced byan uplift tubetype of agitator.l In this construction, the motor 2 is mounted vertically upon the baseV plate/I which supports an uplift tube 2.5 extending downwardly within the cage l5. The motor shaft is provided with an extension 26 extending downwardly centrally of the tube 25 and support in a bearing 21 mounted on a closure plate 28 of the tube 25. Near the lower end of the tube 25 are a number of inlet openings 29 spaced around'the periphery of the tube while in the upper portion of the tube there is provided a single outlet facing outwardly from thevrear plate Il. Impellerjblades 3l are'mounted on the shaft 26 and are'adapted to draw theliquid in through the inlet openings 29Y and discharge it through'the outlet 30. In order to. improve the eciency of the agitator, the rising liquid in the 2,644,677 s y, .j

tube 25 is'directed towards the outlet 30 by a v flared baille 32 extending across the tube and having mounted therein an additional' bearing 33 forl the shaft 26.

f Figure 5 illustrates the manner in which the device is secured in position in a cylindrical container 24 (shown in cross section). From this figure it will be seen that the wall of the container is gripped between the curved rod 20 and .the strip I'B thereby supporting the agitator in a vertical position in contact with the wall. In use it is preferredjfor the device to rest on the bottom .of the vessel or other container in which it works the U-sha'ped member I9 servingV to hold the dejvice closeto the wall of thecontainer. ConvenientlyY the U-shaped member i9 may be mounted'to slide; vertically with respect to the cage Yl5 so that the device may be accommodated scribed embodiments thereof and the device may be adapted toV stand in they centre of ya container.

Similarly the uplift tubev may be provided with f more than one outlet distributed around the periphery thereof, the baille 32. then taking theY form of an inverted cone. Y

Thus in Figure 6 there is shown a further construction Y of al liquid agitating device according to the invention which device is adapted for positioning centrally of the tank or container in which itis used. As will be seen from the drawing, the device comprises a base plate 4t adapted to rest on the bottom of the tank or container,

an uplift tube 4l whichis flared at its upper end as at 42, a baille 43 and a'skirted wire mesh cylinder '44 all of which are clamped in position by ,means of rods 45' screw threaded at eachend, which rods are screwed into holes 46 in an annular boss 4l formed on the base 4I! and receive at theirV other ends a nut 48, by means of which the assembly is clamped together. Annular distance pieces 49 surround the rods 45 between the end of the tube 4l and the baffle 43 to provide an annular space 5&3 which constitutes the outlet for the liquid forced upwardly through the tube by lmeans of animpeller 5l, the liquid entering the tube through inlet openings 52 positioned adjacent the lower end of the tube and spaced around the periphery thereof. The annular boss 4l is grooved as at 53 to receive the lower end of the tube 4i and the base plate and the lip 54 of the tube have formed in them circumferential grooves 55 and 56 respectively adaptedY to receive the' end of'the wire mesh cylinder 44.

Also securedto theupperV ends of rods 45v and clamped against the '.bale l43 are inwardly Vexe tending supporting members 57 adapted to support an electric motor 58 in a vertical position centrally ofthe base 43.Y The Amembers are secured to the motor by means of bolts 59.

The motor 5.8 drives a vertical shaft 60 jour-Y nalled in a bearing formed in the baffle 43 and a bearing 62 supported by the base plate 49;k the impeller 5l being secured to the shaft at aj point immediately above the inlet openingsY 52. Y The bailie '43 is formed with an upstanding rim 63 to which a cover $4 is secured by means of screws (it).` 1

In operation, the l:device'is placed in a tank or'co'n'tainer preferably centrally thereof and the liquid is drawn'infthroughthe linlet openings 52 by means of-the impeller 5I `driven by the motor 5B,Y and discharged through the lannular outlet 50, rthe bale 43 serving lto direct the liquid'to the outlet. The wire mesh cylinder 44 defines a volume of liquidv surrounding the tube 4i which liquid is acted upon by the impeller 5L' The device may also be constructed so as to p erinitj` adjustment in "height or width or both soasto be accommodated in containers of vari ous sizes and may be provided with any form of liquid agitator which will give a directed flow ofthe liquid throughout the container.

What I claim is: l i. A portable device adapted to be removably positioned in a container for agitating liquids contained therein comprising meansfor produc- 5 ing a uniformly directed flow of liquid in the container, said means being adapted to operate in an unobstructed volume of the lliquid defined by a perforated casing surrounding and spaced from said means and extending upwardly a substantial distance from the bottom of the device whereby the liquid is agitated throughout substantially the whole depth thereof, said means comprises a blade extending longitudinally of the device and adapted to be oscillated about one longitudinal edge thereof.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said blade extends radially from a shaft disposed longitudinally of the device and means are provided for connecting the shaft to an electric motor mounted in the device whereby the motor imparts an oscillatory movement tothe shaft about its axis.

3. Portable liquid agitating apparatus adapted to be removably positioned in a container and comprising, in combination, liquid moving means for producing a uniformly directed flow of liquid in the container; and screen means ixedly mounted with respect to said liquid moving means, said screen means surrounding and being spaced from said liquid moving means to define an unobstructed volume of liquid in which the said liquid moving means operates, whereby liquid moved by said liquid moving means may pass freely through said screen means while 'the latter prevents any objects in the liquid in the container from contacting said liquid moving means, said liquid moving means comprising a motor, a shaft, linkage means interconnecting said motor and shaft for oscillating the latter, ablade having opposite edge portions one of which is xedly connected to said shaft and the other of which is located adjacent to said screen means.

HANS LEOPOLD sIMoN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 131,660 Campbell et al. Sept. 24, 1872 614,522 VWhiting et al. Nov. 22, 1898 1,529,770 Cavanaugh et al. Mar. 17, 1925 1,755,341 Stanley Apr. 22, 1930 1,864,149 Rockwell K June 21, 1932 1,891,122Y Urch Dec. 13, 1932 1,929,377 Wilsey Oct. 3, 1933 

